Frankenstein and Blade Runner

A comparative study of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner reveals the significance of context in a revisitation of common ideas within differing milieus. Both texts critique the notion of egotism and consequently challenge perceptions of what constitutes humanity; the relativity of such a notion is indicative and indeed shaped by the texts’ social and political contexts. Shelley’s Frankenstein serves as a cautionary tale in light of the Industrial Revolution, highlighting the dangers of humanity’s ambition and – albeit subconscious – aspirations for divinity. Scott too examines this similar humanist predicament but in light of his late 20th Century context, namely the imminent prospect of biomechanical engineering within his projected postmodern dystopia. This commonality of purpose within the differing contexts demonstrates a revisitation of values, illustrative of the shifting process due to context.

Shelley demonstrates the implications of human egotism through the scientific exploitation of her protagonist, Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein critiques Shelley’s social context, specifically the dangers of the perceived uncapped technological progression evident in the Industrial Revolution. The nature of Shelley’s cautionary tale becomes evident in the condemnation of Frankenstein, whose demise upon the ‘birth’ of his Creature acts as a cautionary undertone against the unbridled urge of the post-industrial scientist. Frankenstein’s torment is highlighted in the murder of his innocent brother, “betrayed to death and ignominy” by the monster. Shelley’s critique of the Enlightenment in its rationalising of science and opposition to the Edenic principles of Christian theology influences the characterisation of her protagonist; the subtitle of the novel – The Modern Prometheus – signifies the metaphysical dimension of Frankenstein’s aspirations, replacing the natural ecology of creation with his own egotistic urge for divinity. Indeed,...